Gout surge blamed on sweet drinks

[Guest guest]

I assume gout is some form of internal dampness . . .

 

 

 

Gout surge blamed on sweet drinks

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7219473.stm

 

+++++++++++++++++++

 

RESEARCH:

Hyon K Choi and Gary Curhan

Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men:

prospective

cohort study

BMJ, Jan 2008

 

Objective To examine the relation between intake of sugar sweetened

soft

drinks and fructose and the risk of incident gout in men.

 

Design Prospective cohort over 12 years.

 

Setting Health professionals follow-up study.

 

Participants 46 393 men with no history of gout at baseline who

provided

information on intake of soft drinks and fructose through validated

food

frequency questionnaires.

 

Main outcome measure Incident cases of gout meeting the American

College of

Rheumatology survey criteria for gout.

 

Results During the 12 years of follow-up 755 confirmed incident cases

of

gout were reported. Increasing intake of sugar sweetened soft drinks

was

associated with an increasing risk of gout. Compared with consumption

of

less than one serving of sugar sweetened soft drinks a month the

multivariate relative risk of gout for 5-6 servings a week was 1.29

(95%

confidence interval 1.00 to 1.68), for one serving a day was 1.45 (1.02

to

2.08), and for two or more servings a day was 1.85 (1.08 to 3.16; P for

 

trend=0.002). Diet soft drinks were not associated with risk of gout (P

for

trend=0.99). The multivariate relative risk of gout according to

increasing

fifths of fructose intake were 1.00, 1.29, 1.41, 1.84, and 2.02 (1.49

to

2.75; P for trend <0.001). Other major contributors to fructose intake

such

as total fruit juice or fructose rich fruits (apples and oranges) were

also

associated with a higher risk of gout (P values for trend <0.05).

 

Conclusions Prospective data suggest that consumption of sugar

sweetened

soft drinks and fructose is strongly associated with an increased risk

of

gout in men. Furthermore, fructose rich fruits and fruit juices may

also

increase the risk. Diet soft drinks were not associated with the risk

of

gout.